ARMY WELFARE HOUSING ORGANISATION Vs. ADJUTANT GENERALS BRANCH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The only issue involved in this writ petition is as to whether the Army Welfare Housing Organization is a "public authority "within the meaning of Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act.

(2.) The respondent no.3 sought certain information from the petitioner. Some information was provided to him by the concerned PIO. Dissatisfied with the response, he preferred an appeal to the First Appellate Authority. The appeal having been dismissed, he preferred a second appeal before the Central Information Commission. Since the Commission had earlier taken a view that the petitioner was not a "Public Authority", a Special Bench of the Commission was constituted to hear the said appeal. The petitioner claimed before the Commission that it was a private body not amenable to the provisions of the Right to Information Act. It was also submitted by the petitioner that though certain loans were extended to the petitioner by the government it was not a body financed by the government. Disposing of the said appeal, the Commission, inter alia, held as under:

(3.) The Commission accordingly directed the Director General of the petitioner society to designate a CPIO as First Appellate Authority under RTI Act. Being aggrieved from the aforesaid decision, the petitioner is before this Court by way of this writ petition.